Babies and Bathwater (Rou, Korin)

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Wong Fei Lin

Babies and Bathwater (Rou, Korin)

Lead

[-]

Posts: 145

(28/12/2008 09:52 PM)

Moderator
The Drunken Monkey
Or the Iron Liver

Not your usual kind of girl
Can really pack a punch...
...Literally!

Just avoid her when she's drunk

Which is when...?

...most of the time! *sob*

Tags : None

There was something different about Fei Lin lately. Nearly everyone noticed it. She seemed to smile more often and giggle about the littlest things or about nothing at all. She rarely wore her more alarming outfits and favoured roomier attire and it had been a long time since she indulged in an arena fight or even looked at a drink. It was bizarre, but if she was in a good mood, most of the palace staff wasn't going to object. She was twice as nice to work for when she was happy.

And she certainly was that.

The last three months had been interesting. First there was her actually getting sick. Because of her rather unique gift, Fei was hardly ever ill and never, ever hung over. Because it was so unusual, it was insisted she go to see Kin about it. She thought it was nothing. Then that visit seemed to turn the world on it's ear.

It turned out that her bellyache was all because of a baby.

Her baby.

Her's and Rou's baby.

Ever since then, Fei started doing things differently. She no longer fought or drank or willingly threw herself into fights. Her skimpy outfits had been put away in favour of long, flowy kimono that hid the tiny bump of her stomach. Rou didn't know and she hadn't the foggiest idea of how to tell him. Neither of them had ever discussed the idea of children before. In fact, they had been together so long without anything of that sort happening, that the subject sometimes completely slipped her mind.

But now it was three months since she found out, the former arena fighter thought as she absentmindedly placed her hand on her tummy and entered the Library. She usually found her husband here at this hour of the afternoon. Weather on some errand or if he was just talking with Korin, it was as good a place as any to try and bring up the subject of their child.

"I can only hope your father is as excited as I am, sweetheart." she whispered softly as she pulled open the library door and smiled down at her abdomen. "Otherwise this will be one big mess."

Some girls are born to make you cry

Rou Tokushima

[-]

Posts: 475

(29/12/2008 04:59 AM)

Bodyguard to Lord Sohma
Sex god
Bad boy

I'd sheath his weapon any time...
...
I discard you

The days were long and quiet now. The Masagao Party was settling comfortably on the backburners; Sai and Korin had made up; Rou had got his punch in on Korin; Fei had made herself comfortable as the Minister of Trade; Namiko and Yukihiro had been generally quiet. Well except for last night's incident, but that hardly mattered right now. One incident that nearly killed him out of usually so many wasn't nearly upsetting (he was not thinking about the whole water thing and what Namiko might do). These were the days he remembered. This was how it had been before everything had hit the fan. It seemed that with Ozawa's reign of terror fading they had been allowed a respite. Free time, lazing around, talking with friends - oh yeah, life was good again.

Really, the only unnatural happening to upset the balance of peace spreading through the palace was the presence of Yuu. The kitsune had started havoc of his own, although he was quick to make himself scarce the moment Rouichi showed up. But even that was settling into a comfortable buffer between normal and the strange. Yuu kept to himself and the palace did the same.

Korin was just off returning a stack of books to their proper places, having left only a few moments ago. Rouichi sat in the chair he had pulled from one of the many seating areas, the one that he had carved his initials into on the bottom of the right leg in order to be able to find. Korin kept making comments about the chair, wondering how Rou knew, but it was just a smoke and mirrors thing. Korin would be surprised how much could be pulled over one's eyes when they didn't know to look.

Yawning, the redhead leaned back, kicking his feet up on Korin's desk (mostly because he knew it would annoy him) and making himself comfortable. He wasn't due back to Sohma's office for another hour and a half. He wished Korin would hurry up with those books.

____________________________
"And you used all of your brain cells for that? I'm mildly impressed."

Wong Fei Lin

[-]

Posts: 146

(29/12/2008 05:11 AM)

Moderator
The Drunken Monkey
Or the Iron Liver

Not your usual kind of girl
Can really pack a punch...
...Literally!

Just avoid her when she's drunk

Which is when...?

...most of the time! *sob*

It didn't take Fei long to find Rou. Usually, when he was in the library he was bothering Korin as the librarian cataloged what books were in and which were out. Today, it seemed Korin tired of the teasing early and had left to do something else while Rou sat waiting with his feet on the desk. Tiny little butterflies fluttered in her stomach as she made her way over to the desk. Her warm, lined kimono rustled against the floor as she quickened her pace and made her way to the desk. A shy, sweet smile spread across her lips as she drew nearer.

"Rou!" she said with a barely contained tone of excitement as she walked around the desk and immediately took her place in her husband's lap. Without another word, Fei wrapped her arms about his shoulders and kissed him softly on the cheek. She could have blurted everything out in that one minute of shy excitement.

"I've been looking all over for you." she added with a laugh. "Terribly busy today?"

Some girls are born to make you cry

Rou Tokushima

[-]

Posts: 476

(29/12/2008 05:59 AM)

Bodyguard to Lord Sohma
Sex god
Bad boy

I'd sheath his weapon any time...
...
I discard you

Rou laughed and kissed his wife on the cheek. "Not terribly," he replied, wrapping his arms around her shoulders comfortably. "I've just been here. I went and talked with Sai a little before stopping here, though." He smiled at her, leaning back to look at Fei Lin. She really was gorgeous, he thought idly. How could he have ever been so stupid as to feel anxious about marrying her? She was the light of his life. It was such a stupid, romantic thought, but he was in a good mood at the moment.

"Why, what's up?" he asked, tipping his head back and resting it gently on the back of the chair. He was slouching, so that made it easier. "You look like you've just got your first season's shipment of tea for free."

____________________________
"And you used all of your brain cells for that? I'm mildly impressed."

Wong Fei Lin

[-]

Posts: 147

(29/12/2008 06:18 AM)

Moderator
The Drunken Monkey
Or the Iron Liver

Not your usual kind of girl
Can really pack a punch...
...Literally!

Just avoid her when she's drunk

Which is when...?

...most of the time! *sob*

"I've been having a good day." Fei replied. The smile didn't leave her face as looked at him. She loved the man. The finest moment of her life was marrying him and it seemed that every moment since then, good and bad, had been even sweeter. The tiniest things about him were more dear to her than life itself. The same would be true for their child. She just had to tell him about them.

"Rou, I have to ask you something." she said, leaning against his chest and listening to his heartbeat. It was now or never. She couldn't hide the fact that she was showing another month. By then, it would be totally obvious. But she had to be gentle about it. She had to know how he felt about being a father before she told him her good news.

"We've been married a long time," She started, her eyes dropping down to her belly as she spoke. "And I love you more than anything, Rou. I love waking up next to you every day and falling asleep in your arms every night. You mean the world to me, you know." her expression softened as she leaned up and kissed him under his chin.

"I just..." Fei sighed, resting her head against his shoulder and closing her eyes. "I just keep thinking that it'd be nice to start a family with you. Regardless of what your station is or my own or regardless of what the rest of the palace thinks. I'd love it if we could be parents, Rou."

Some girls are born to make you cry

Rou Tokushima

[-]

Posts: 477

(29/12/2008 06:36 AM)

Bodyguard to Lord Sohma
Sex god
Bad boy

I'd sheath his weapon any time...
...
I discard you

Family.

Rou froze. His arms around Fei Lin slackening suddenly, nearly dropping completely to his sides. Family. Fei wanted to have children. Children! The very concept of the idea had never manifested in his brain until now. It was so ludicrous. Him, with kids? Proposterous. Ridiculous. He couldn't have kids. What would he do with children anyway? He didn't want them; didn't want the changing and the crying and the feedings and the whole family process. Why the hell did she even want them? Wasn't labour supposed to be painful as hell?

Underneathe the superficial thoughts was something Rou was much more familiar with. Fear. The idea of starting a family actually invoked some kind of terror inside him. Maybe it was a fear of commitment - he knew he had one. Maybe it was a fear of passing on his blood-stained genes. Maybe it was a fear of becoming a parent and ending up being a terrible one. Perhaps it was all of those things. Perhaps it was none of those things.

Rouichi Tokushima, a father?

That was such a ridiculous idea.

"I- uhh...Um... Wow - Fei - kids! I mean - uhh... yeah. I mean no." Rouichi shifted uneasily and shimmied in his chair so that he was sitting back up properly. Lifting Fei up, Rouichi pulled his boots off Korin's desk and set his feet on the floor. "I mean - why don't we hold off for anothercoupleyears - months! I mean months..." He was talking quickly and looking around, seemingly trying to find something more interesting than Fei Lin to avoid looking directly at her.

____________________________
"And you used all of your brain cells for that? I'm mildly impressed."

Minobe Korin

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Posts: 646

(29/12/2008 06:56 AM)

Moderator
Head Librarian
of Erion Palace Library
Authority on ceremonial ettiquette,
antiques, and boring historical treatises

Has the sisters from HELL!
You just meet them!

Korin had found Comparative Religions in a complete mess, and that had turned a simple reshelving operation into a major re-sorting. When he had everything neatly lined up to his satisfaction, and his library as he wanted it, he brushed the dust off the front of the shelf and turned to go back. He didn't have any qualms of conscience about leaving Rou by himself - there were enough books to amuse him - but he was absolutely certain Rou would have his feet on the table by now.

When he reached his desk, Rou didn't have his feet on the table. Instead he had his wife Fei on his lap - overflowing from his lap, Korin thought cynically, but he didn't really mean it. Korin did like Fei, despite the fact they rubbed each other the wrong way frequently. And recently, these last two months or so, she had had a soft glow about her that, the first time he had seen it, had stopped Korin in his tracks while he thought oh no.

When you had nine sisters, you noticed these things.

However, there had been no word from Rou, and Korin was pretty sure that Rou would have told him. At first, Korin had started to think he might be mistaken, but as the weeks went past he just grew more and more certain. It wouldn't be polite, however, to say anything before the announcement. As the second month passed he wondered if Fei even knew herself. But how could she have missed it?

But now, from the way Fei was looking and the utterly shell-shocked expression on Rou's face, Korin knew there was only one thing they could be talking about. Fei was telling him about the baby.

"Congratulations," Korin said, coming back behind his desk and pulling a stack of books towards him so he could sort them. He gave Fei Lin a rare smile. He was pleased for her. He wasn't so sure Rou could handle the fatherhood side of things, but if Fei Lin kept it away from the arena and didn't feed it alcohol, the baby would have one hell of a mother. "I was wondering when you would break the news. When's it due?"

Wong Fei Lin

[-]

Posts: 148

(29/12/2008 07:14 AM)

Moderator
The Drunken Monkey
Or the Iron Liver

Not your usual kind of girl
Can really pack a punch...
...Literally!

Just avoid her when she's drunk

Which is when...?

...most of the time! *sob*

It wasn't the reaction she'd been hoping for. Instead of a legitimate reason, Rou did everything he could to avoid his wife's gaze and stuttered half thought sentences. The idea scared him and there sat at the edge of his lap barely hiding the fact that it wasn't just an idea anymore. How would he react to the truth of the matter? Would it change everything they had? Would he be angry.

She bit her lip and shut her eyes in an attempt to try and find some way to calm thing back down. To rationally explain that she was indeed pregnant with his child and that, even if it was a scary thing, she was just as worried and scared as he was. Maybe even more. But she loved him and what she carried was undeniable proof of that.

There had to be a way to get him to listen. She swallowed hard and began to say her husband's name when Korin arrived at the desk with a happy smile on his face.

"Congratulations, I was wondering when you would break the news. When's it due?"

Oh no, she thought, her dark green eyes going wide as Korin gave it all away with a well-meant congratulations and bright smile. Fei stammered for a moment before looking back at Rou with an apologetic look in her eyes and small, slightly sad smile on her face.

"Kin says in the spring. By April or May."

Some girls are born to make you cry

Rou Tokushima

[-]

Posts: 478

(29/12/2008 07:31 AM)

Bodyguard to Lord Sohma
Sex god
Bad boy

I'd sheath his weapon any time...
...
I discard you

"..Wh-... What?"

Break the news? What news? What the hell was Korin talking about? And why was Fei Lin staring at him like that, with her beautiful jade eyes wide in anxious anticipation. When's it due? he had asked. By april of may she had so casually replied, trying to make the conversation sound light. It would be nice to start a family with you..

Everything clicked. His green eyes widened and Rouichi looked down, leveling his gaze with his wife's stomach. Now that he was looking there was a bit of a bump there. Kin says in the spring. Kin meant... and Fei had said... Fei Lin was pregnant. She was with child. His child.

His child.

A choking feeling began to tickle the back of his throat. That couldn't be true. He worked his jaw, trying to speak, but no words came out. His voice had fled him along with just about all of his motor functions. A child! Panic began working its way through his stomach, tying it in knots and making him feel vaguely sick. Oh God. A child. Oh God. Oh God.OhGodohGodoh-

"Feeeii..." Rou stuttered. His voice was very quiet and - timid, almost? Perhaps the word frightened might have been better. "Its not - I mean - he didn't - are you...?" There was recognition in Rou's eyes. He knew, but he wanted confirmation. Maybe if she said it wasn't true and he closed his eyes, it would all go away.

____________________________
"And you used all of your brain cells for that? I'm mildly impressed."

Last Edited By: Rou Tokushima 29/12/2008 07:34 AM. Edited 1 times.

Wong Fei Lin

[-]

Posts: 149

(29/12/2008 07:51 AM)

Moderator
The Drunken Monkey
Or the Iron Liver

Not your usual kind of girl
Can really pack a punch...
...Literally!

Just avoid her when she's drunk

Which is when...?

...most of the time! *sob*

This wasn't the was it was supposed to be. In stories announcements like this were always considered happy. While she had felt happy only moments before, Fei couldn't help feeling upset and hurt by the way things had turned out. It was only the start of what would probably end up as many little irrational fears and overreactions over the next six months. Rou sounded terrified and now she felt it.

"I am, Rou." she said quietly, her eyes stayed locked with his as she watched for his reaction. Cold fear was stained on her husband's face and it made her heart break at the sight of it. He was just shocked, she told herself, once the idea sank in and he had time to think it over, things would be fine. He was scared. She was scared. But at the same time she couldn't keep from feeling happy, proud and excited. She hoped that he'd find himself feeling the same way.

"I have been for three months." she explained, dropping her gaze to her hands which she then folded over her rounded belly. She had known for so long and hadn't told him. She regretted it. "I... I'm sorry, Rou. I-i didn't know how to tell you and I couldn't hide it much longer."

Some girls are born to make you cry

Minobe Korin

[-]

Posts: 647

(29/12/2008 08:02 PM)

Moderator
Head Librarian
of Erion Palace Library
Authority on ceremonial ettiquette,
antiques, and boring historical treatises

Has the sisters from HELL!
You just meet them!

Oh, gods. When he ealised how it was, Korin wished himself a million miles away. This was an important conversation about private couple matters. Korin shouldn't have interfered.

Then common sense kicked in. He was friends with both of them. If Fei had minded him overhearring this then she wouldn't have come to the library to tell Rou. The library was Korin's domain. At any other time he would have felt obscurely happy that Fei Lin wouldn't mind him overhearing this piece of news, but right now he could only stare at Rou. Rou hadn't guessed? Not even the slightest suspicion?

Korin looked down at the pile, not wanting to put too much pressure on Rou by both of them staring at him. Anyway, Rou's attention was fully occupied by his wife. "Fei has been looking different for a while now, Rou," Korin murmured, sorting the top books of the stack into piles. "I'm surprised you didn't see anything. Is it really that much of a shock?"

Rou Tokushima

[-]

Posts: 479

(29/12/2008 08:47 PM)

Bodyguard to Lord Sohma
Sex god
Bad boy

I'd sheath his weapon any time...
...
I discard you

Of course he hadn't gussed. No one had said anything! When one's schedule tended to get as busy as Rouichi's did one often overlooked smaller matters in favor of remembering the bigger ones. Well, this was certainly a big matter, but it hadn't been a month ago. How happy your wife looked was nice and all, but it wasn't going to save you from Ozawa's men in the middle of the night when they decided that they wanted you and your lord's head. Rouichi winced as soon as he'd thought it. That was cold, even for him. He wished it unthought and chastised himself for it.

Rouichi gently helped his wife off his lap and stood, beginning to pace in front of Korin's desk. A child. A family. He wasn't ready for a family. He had been barely ready for marriage! He hadn't been ready for marriage! He'd slept around for at least three months before the idea had actually sunk in. "Of course its a - a -shock," he muttered, still pacing. He seemed to be having trouble speaking and cleared his throat. That didn't help.

Finally he stopped in front of one of the nearby bookshelves and leaned on it, resting his arms on the shelf and his forehead on his arms. "I mean -" he turned to look at Fei uncertainly. "... Are you sure?" She nodded. Rouichi groaned and pushed off the shelf, running a hand over his eyes. "Spirits help me."

Rouichi looked back at Fei Lin. She was scared, he could tell that. Her face was a mixed expression of pride, uncertainty and anxiousness. He kicked himself for his little show and tried to calm himself by taking a deep breath. "I mean - come on - I'm... I'm not father material," he said, turning fully to face them and gesturing helplessly at himself. "I am the last person in Erion who should have a kid. What would I teach it?! How to throw daggers at people!?" he exclaimed. "I-... I will be a terrible parent!"

____________________________
"And you used all of your brain cells for that? I'm mildly impressed."

Wong Fei Lin

[-]

Posts: 150

(29/12/2008 09:10 PM)

Moderator
The Drunken Monkey
Or the Iron Liver

Not your usual kind of girl
Can really pack a punch...
...Literally!

Just avoid her when she's drunk

Which is when...?

...most of the time! *sob*

"Oh, Rou..." Fei said softly, she wanted to laugh but it wouldn't be right given how Rou was reacting. Every little thing he was saying had been her own worry three months before. She'd done things in her past that the good majority of the world thought was improper. She liked to drink and beat people up for other's amusement in the arena. She left a trail of bruised, broken and bloodied men all over the Jade Empire before she came to Erion and there were still plenty of arena fighters here who flinched when they heard her name. She wasn't the sort of person people would think was mother material.

And yet, once she calmed down, the idea was suddenly wonderful. She could make things different for her child. They'd never feel unwanted or unloved because she would always love them. So would Rou. She knew that deep in her heart. Whatever they had been or had done didn't matter now that they were expecting. All that mattered was what they would be for their son or their daughter.

"How could you possibly think that, Rou?" she asked, walking over to him and gently taking her hands into his own. "You're going to be a wonderful father. I know you will."

"And it's because of what you do that I know." she added, looking up at him with soft, loving eyes. "You would never ever let anything bad happen to them and, just like I would, I know you wouldn't let them make the same mistakes we did when we were younger."

Some girls are born to make you cry

Rou Tokushima

[-]

Posts: 481

(29/12/2008 10:58 PM)

Bodyguard to Lord Sohma
Sex god
Bad boy

I'd sheath his weapon any time...
...
I discard you

"Fei Lin, what I do is I kill people for a living," he remarked heavily, putting particular emphasis on that statement. She didn't get it because she didn't know, he realized that much. Rouichi had never told her about the Batsu or about what had happened to him, or even what he had been before she had known him. Korin knew, through a fluke of events and a conversation out in the woods that had been tied in with a lot of emotional problems. But then, Korin knew a lot more about Rou than even Sohma did. It was extremely odd to think about now that his mind was going down that path. He didn't think that anyone knew more about him than Korin did. How had one librarian gotten through so many of his defenses?

He shook himself mentally. There were more important things to think about than the past. Mainly, his immediate future. "I didn't have the chance to make mistakes when I was younger, Fei. I don't know what to teach a kid, or what I should warn him or her off, cause I was never shown. I didn't have a parental figure to tell me 'no' or give me hell when I was being bad... not that I got the chance," he muttered to himself. His eyes flicked to Korin and then back to Fei. He shouldn't be talking about this in front of his friend. This was a subject for behind closed doors. But he didn't dare go somewhere else private now that it started because he'd lose his nerve, and anyway, Korin's presence was helping a little bit. After all, Korin knew what he was talking about.

"Rou? What do you mean?" Fei was watching him with a little concerned frown plucking at her brow. Rou sighed.

"I grew up in a military setting," he said, kicking at the floor with one of his boots. Somehow it had got away from talking about babies and moved on to talking about his past, but he supposed that he had had to tell her eventually. "I was... conscripted into the army at a really young age - six years old. Special section for magic users. Me and four others. We ah-" he faltered. "We spent all our time training, I didn't have a personal life. Didn't have birthdays or build snowmen or do Winter Solstice - probably part of the reason I enjoy this part of the year so much. I uh - we were pretty much meant to be nothing but soldiers for the rest of our lives. They never taught us anything but how to wage war. That's all I know, Fei. I don't know anything about raising a family..." he said helplessly. "I just know how to kill them."

____________________________
"And you used all of your brain cells for that? I'm mildly impressed."

Wong Fei Lin

[-]

Posts: 151

(30/12/2008 12:04 AM)

Moderator
The Drunken Monkey
Or the Iron Liver

Not your usual kind of girl
Can really pack a punch...
...Literally!

Just avoid her when she's drunk

Which is when...?

...most of the time! *sob*

Except for her questions Fei listened quietly as Rou spoke. There had been so much he hadn't told her about when he was a boy. He'd listen to her talk about the few moments in her own past that were special but never said he did the same. The past was painful for her. It sounded even worse for him the longer she listened.

But, as she always had, she took what she was told and accepted it. It didn't change the way she felt about him or how she felt about his being a father. He didn't know and she was little better than he was in that department. But that didn't mean either of them couldn't make it work. Not if they were in it together.

"Then we'll learn, Rou." she said quietly, her hands released his only for her arms to wrap themselves around his waist. It felt different hugging him now that her belly was getting bigger, but it wasn't unpleasant. They were just including someone else in it.

"I"m just as scared as you are." She admitted, her gaze falling to the floor as she spoke. "I mean, I know what's happening to me and what'll eventually come of it, but that doesn't make it any easier. My own family didn't even want me and just for that alone, someone would say I shouldn't even try to have one of my own. To say nothing of the arena fighting and drinking and all the other trouble I get myself into around here. I reacted no differently than you when Kin told me."

"But," she sighed softly and looked back up into her husband's eyes. "When it all finally sank in, it felt wonderful. It still feels wonderful now. There's someone who's part me and part you inside of me. Someone you and I made. It's amazing."

Fei shut her eyes and shook her head. She sounded so sappy and she knew it, but it couldn't be helped.

"The past doesn't matter, Rou." she said, opening her eyes and fixing her gaze on her belly. "It never has. Whatever we don't know now we'll learn and we'll get through it together."

Some girls are born to make you cry

Minobe Korin

[-]

Posts: 648

(30/12/2008 01:02 AM)

Moderator
Head Librarian
of Erion Palace Library
Authority on ceremonial ettiquette,
antiques, and boring historical treatises

Has the sisters from HELL!
You just meet them!

When Korin realised that the conversation was not going to get any less private, and they were just going deeper into sensitive areas, he unobtrusively withdrew, feeling uncomfortable. Neither Fei nor Rou seemed to mind him being there, but Korin by his very nature liked having a certain amount of distance from people, and expected others to want the same thing. He didn't go far, just to examine and needlessly rearrange a bookshelf on the other side of the small clear space his desk was set in. But he kept an ear open.

"I don't know anything about raising a family... I just know how to kill them." Korin's mind jumped back instantly to a conversation he had once had with Rou, far from Erion. Rou had told him a little about his life before, about growing up with no colour, no family, no feelings. No wonder he couldn't conceive of bringing up a generation to follow him.

Rou Tokushima

[-]

Posts: 482

(30/12/2008 02:04 AM)

Bodyguard to Lord Sohma
Sex god
Bad boy

I'd sheath his weapon any time...
...
I discard you

Rou bit his lip and wrapped his arms around his wife cautiously, suddenly afraid that he might break her. He had never considered Fei Lin fragile in any sense of the word, but now she was pregnant with his child. His child. He couldn't stop himself double-taking every time he thought that. The idea of it was so strange, so absurd, so terrifying... He honestly did not know how to handle it. He obviously had to find a way, there was nothing he could do about it now. The proof of that was pressed up against him while they hugged. Oh Gods, what was he going to do?

The redhead looked down at his wife, the mother of his child. No - he had to deal with it somehow. Fei was trying her best to be encouraging. One look into her hopeful eyes and he knew that he had to man-up. He could kill assassins with his bare hands, burn down cities and fight of hordes of soldiers, why couldn't he handle the idea of one little baby? It wasn't going to kill him. As rational as he was trying to be about it though, it was still extremely terrifying. The offspring of someone like Rouichi Tokushima...

But then... it was Fei's too. Fei Lin's daughter. Fei Lin's son. He stopped to consider that. It wasn't just some child of a creature like him. It was his and Fei Lin's child. Whatever darkness lurked inside him and inside his past, it wasn't attached to the thing that they had created. He supposed that that was what Fei had been trying to tell him while he'd been freaking out about it. And a child... well... there were worse things than a child. He would learn to cope. He had learned to cope with being married, he could learn to cope with being a father.

He felt a little sick thinking about it, but he thought that it might be a chance to let him forget about the sins of the past.

"There is... so much to be done," he said at last. "Sohma will have to sign papers and we need to clear out a room at the manor. I'll have to hire extra guards-" he paused, frowning and drawing back. That was a thought. He wouldn't be able to hide the fact that Fei Lin was carrying his child. The whole palace would know, and that meant Yukihiro and Namiko and all of the people who would seek to do him harm through his family. "More guards. Yes, more guards is a good idea..." he said, sounding a tad paranoid.

Then a thought occured to him and he glanced at Korin, who had his back to the two of them and seemed to be very interested in the design of the shelf. He glanced between his friend and Fei before whispering into his wife's ear.

____________________________
"And you used all of your brain cells for that? I'm mildly impressed."

Wong Fei Lin

[-]

Posts: 152

(30/12/2008 02:41 AM)

Moderator
The Drunken Monkey
Or the Iron Liver

Not your usual kind of girl
Can really pack a punch...
...Literally!

Just avoid her when she's drunk

Which is when...?

...most of the time! *sob*

Fei smiled gently as Rou spoke. It wasn't exactly how she planned to tell him, but he was coming around to the idea now and that was all that mattered. Already he spoke of talking to Sohma about the paper work necessary for the baby and to find an unused room for the nursery.

They were both things that Sohma had done the day she came home wearing an expression of sudden happiness and extreme worry. The second she told him the results of her visit, the man had pulled her into such a tight hug and showered her with congratulations. Then, without even a second's thought, he went and did everything Rou had just mentioned. Though, he didn't mention guards. That was a thought that completely belonged to Rou and Fei couldn't help but smile over it.

She knew as well as he did that it would be hard to hide the fact that she was pregnant from the rest of the palace. In a little under a month, she would be seriously showing and everyone would be able to see. Including those opposed to Sohma and to Rou and in turn to herself. There hadn't been trouble for a while but it could still arise that someone would try to use it against her or worse against her husband and Sohma. And if she couldn't defend herself, then she'd need guarding.

"For once, I'll be glad to have a few guards around." she said with a laugh, resting her head against Rou's shoulder and smiling brightly. It was all going to be okay, she thought, smiling up at her husband. His gaze seemed to shift from her and then back to Korin. Following it, she noticed his intense interest in that one particular bookshelf. He'd walked away, but couldn't keep from listening.

"Fei-chan?" Rou's voice whispered softly into her ear, grabbing her attention. "I think Korin should be the baby's Godfather. Does sound alright to you?"

She giggled softly, smiled up at her husband and nodded. It made the most sense, really. Korin was very close to Rou and had been genuinely happy when he congratulated the both of them. This would just cement the fact that he was more or less family now.

"Korin?" she asked, raising her voice slightly so he could hear her. "Could you come over here for a second?"

Some girls are born to make you cry

Minobe Korin

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Posts: 649

(30/12/2008 08:59 PM)

Moderator
Head Librarian
of Erion Palace Library
Authority on ceremonial ettiquette,
antiques, and boring historical treatises

Has the sisters from HELL!
You just meet them!

Korin turned when he heard his name, and abandoned the bookshelf to come over to the couple. Rou seemed to have calmed down, at least. "Yes?" he said. He was expecting something along the lines of don't tell anyone, since Fei's condition made her more vulnerable, and there were people in the palace that Rou and Fei probably wouldn't want the news to get to. They needn't have worried. Korin wasn't talkative.

Fei was smiling, though. Korin had been a little more careful around her since he had noticed, but she had been less emotionally unstable than he had expected. It seemed to take all women different ways, but Michiyo had been prone to sudden explosions and crying fits, and that wasn't a risk you wanted to take with someone who could easily punch your head through a wall. Korin justified his his kid-gloves treatment of Fei with not wanting to risk the consequences of that for himself or the baby.

Rou Tokushima

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Posts: 483

(30/12/2008 09:35 PM)

Bodyguard to Lord Sohma
Sex god
Bad boy

I'd sheath his weapon any time...
...
I discard you

There were probably dozens of better people to pick to be his child's Godfather than Korin. Funny thing was, Rou didn't want anyone else to do the job. Korin wasn't reliable, he wasn't strong, he had the courage of a walnut and the moral fibre of a tree branch... but he was a good man. The only man that Rouichi could yell at and not feel bad about it in the morning. The only man who put up with his constant temper flairs and emotional issues and told Rou right to his face that he was being an idiot and should smarten up. Frankly, Korin was the only man that Rou would allow to get away with it. Usually, Korin was right.

Not that he'd ever tell him that.

Rouichi was not prone to making friends. He had a lot of people who followed him out of loyalty and admiration, but he didn't have a great many people he could call actual friends. Korin had been the first in a long time that had managed to sneak in past his wall of indifference and, in the end, had ended up being his closest. There just wasn't anyone else more suited to the job. And anyway, Korin had had a whole family of sisters. He probably had more experience with kids than Sohma and Rou combined.

"So uhh..." the redhead said, as Korin came over to them and stopped expectantly. Rouichi scrubbed a hand through his hair and wrapped his other arm around his wife, holding Fei to his side. "If this is really going to happen," he continued, trying to collect his thoughts. He was a bit nervous asking something of this magnitude. It felt like he was making himself deliberately vulnerable. "Would you ah- be the kid's Godfather, Korin?"

____________________________
"And you used all of your brain cells for that? I'm mildly impressed."

Minobe Korin

[-]

Posts: 650

(30/12/2008 10:08 PM)

Moderator
Head Librarian
of Erion Palace Library
Authority on ceremonial ettiquette,
antiques, and boring historical treatises

Has the sisters from HELL!
You just meet them!

Korin stared at Rou, in complete shock. The child's godfather? Him? He couldn't! The idea was to have someone who would be able to help raise the child, to teach them things and show them how to live a proper life. What could Korin show them? How to shelve books? How not to get on with your siblings? How to run away from things? "I- I'm not the right person," he stuttered, "I'm sure you could find someone more appropriate..."

He trailed off. Rou was looking at him, and if Korin didn't know Rou better he might even think he was a little nervous. And Fei Lin was watching him too, expectantly. And it occured to Korin that perhaps he didn't need to have Rou's great courage, or Fei Lin's kindness, to be allowed to care about their child.

They might be able to find someone better, but they had asked him.

He smiled. "I would be honoured," he said with feeling, and meant it as much or more than he had meant anything in his life.

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Babies and Bathwater (Rou, Korin)

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